Commercial and non-commercial vehicles now have tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) which include a central module, integrated or in communication with an electronic control unit of the vehicle, and tire pressure monitoring sensors (TPM sensors) for each vehicle wheel unit. In general, the TPM sensors monitor tire pressure within a respective tire and transmits a wireless signal to the central module which is indicative of tire pressure. Should the sensed pressure be outside of an acceptable range or a substantial change in tire pressure occur, an alarm is generated and transmitted to the user of the vehicle.
Over time, TPM sensors require replacement by service technicians due to damage, depleted battery or otherwise. This requires installation and integration of new TPM sensors with a TPMS of a vehicle. During this process, in one configuration, the technician places the vehicle in a learning mode requiring each TPM sensor to be triggered for identification purposes. The technician then sequentially triggers each sensor of a wheel unit, utilizing a TPMS tool, causing each sensor, new or existing, to transmit a wireless signal to a control module of the TPMS. These tools communicate with a sensor through low frequency signals which communicate with the TPMS through a higher frequency radio signal. The control module records the identification number of each signal so as to interpret the location of TPM sensor data during operation thereof.
More recently, certain manufacturers have offered TPM sensors that can be configured, through flash programming or program selection, by a service technician with suitable operating software for a particular make, model and year of a vehicle. Unfortunately, this requires the purchase and maintenance of expensive tools, such as the TECH400SD, sold by Bartec USA at www.bartecusa.com, or otherwise. The purchase and maintenance of TPM sensor configuration tools can be considerable as service stations should maintain one configuration tool for a certain amount of vehicles anticipated to be serviced. Accordingly, the greater number of anticipated clientele, the more configuration tools must be on hand and maintained. Furthermore, the substantial cost of configuration tools effectively eliminates individuals from servicing their own TPMS.
In another aspect, with the continual expansion of the TPMS market, due to increasing numbers of vehicles being sold with TPMS, TPM sensor tools must be continually updated to include not only new TPMS models introduced every year, but also improved software for existing TPM sensors. Accordingly, existing configuration tools must have new memory modules purchased and installed to include the new TPMS data. Alternatively, each configuration tool must be connected to a computer in order to download program software updates, via the internet, or otherwise. In either instance, time must be dedicated for the accessing and installation of updated program software for each sensor tool.